A vehicle safety system typically relies upon a host of electronic sensors designed to monitor and provide data about certain conditions for the vehicle. For instance, an impact detection system may use various types of impact sensors to provide data to an airbag control unit which calculates an angle of impact, severity and force of an impact to determine whether to deploy one or more airbag stages. To improve performance, the electronic sensors are positioned around various portions of a vehicle to optimize sensing capabilities and coverage. However, some areas of a vehicle place increasing operational demands on electronic sensors, oftentimes exposing electronic sensors to harsh environmental conditions. As such, electronic sensors are typically contained within some form of protective housing, collectively referred to sometimes as an electronics package.
As the electronics industry migrates to new processes and technologies, available electronic packages are becoming smaller. While the reduction in size has advantages, such as placement of electronic sensors throughout tight spaces in a vehicle, it also introduces new concerns and precautions. Reductions in size make it more difficult to manufacture or insert an electronic sensor within a corresponding protective housing. Further, the smaller electronic packages generally have smaller contact pads which result in a reduction in connection area between an electronic sensor, such as mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB), and an interface used to electrically connect the PCB to a vehicle system. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present improvements have been needed.